This is a guest post by Dr. John Izzo. Today we’re constantly bombarded with messaging about how we should live. We’re told to work harder, dress better, be fitter, have better relationships, and show more gratitude. So how are we supposed to decide what really matters in life? The answer…
Because gratitude, happiness, and positive leadership are favorite subjects of my blog posts, I was given the opportunity to read a pre-publication edition of The Kindness Cure, by Tara Cousineau, PhD, which will be published on February 2. "Be Nice" is the second of my Six Simple Rules and when I…
I was reading a book of the best sports writing of W. C. Hines, famous for his work from the 1940s through the 1970s. In a profile of former heavyweight boxing champion Floyd Patterson, he asked Patterson about the month he had spent in seclusion at home after losing a…
I, and others on this blog, have written that helping others is a happiness secret. After many people helped others impacted by this year’s hurricane season, a New York Times article pointed out why this is the case. According to Dr. Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist and founder of the Center…
I’ve written many times about what I call Proactive Positivity, actions you can take to help yourself to be happier, such as: expressing gratitude, smiling, helping others, exercising, spending time with people you like, looking for silver linings, being present, seeing the glass as half full, celebrating your progress, laughing,…
Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, lost her husband to a tragic accident. Sandberg, who is quite famous for her book, Lean In, is writing a book with Adam Grant, the author of two of my favorite recent books, Give and Take and Originals. In a commencement speech at…
Back in December, I wrote about an extremely enjoyable and edifying discussion I had with Michelle Gielan. Michelle is the author of Broadcasting Happiness and, along with Shawn Achor (author of The Happiness Advantage, one of the great books I read during the last few years), has created Inspire Happiness,…
I've always liked the designs of the "Life is Good" t-shirts. I was recently given Life is Good, the Book, written by Bert and John Jacobs, founders of the Life is Good company. It's a nice, happiness book, and an easy read. After explaining optimism as the philosophy behind their…
I was fortunate to have the opportunity to spend some time on the phone with Michelle Gielan this week. I loved our conversation. Michelle is the author of Broadcasting Happiness and, along with Shawn Achor, author The Happiness Advantage (one of the great books I read during the last few…
I've been saying for a while: helping others is one of the greatest happiness strategies. So, I was pleased with an episode I heard on the TED Radio Hour. Michael Norton, one of the authors of Happy Money, the Science of Happier Spending described an experiment proving the point: helping…
I was listening to a great episode of one of my favorite podcasts, the TED Radio Hour. “Disruptive Leadership” was the topic and its messages were very much aligned with my thinking, as described in “Be a Leader,” the third chapter of my book, Six Simple Rules for a Better…
I’ve written a lot about gratitude as a happiness strategy. When you spend time thinking about ways you are grateful, and things and relationships in your life about which you are grateful, it’s hard to be unhappy at the same time. Gratitude is a proven activity of proactive positivity. But in a…